Sent to a Citizen Outside My District

Dear XXXXXX,

On the issue of your query if Delegates should only respond to citizens within their legislative districts, it is true that many Delegates do this. This is simply because only voters in their districts have a say in their re-election to the House of Delegates.

However, elected Delegates take an oath of office to serve all the citizens of West Virginia and abide by Constitutional principles of governance.

To that end, Delegates who ignore the concerns of citizens outside of their voting districts are not fulfilling their oath of office.

Furthermore, to disregard the input and concerns of all the citizens of West Virginia marginalizes a Delegate's informational resources and, I think, makes him or her more likely to fail to defend essential principles of good governance as well as to fall prey to pandering partisan parochialism in their voting and advocacy.

Too many legislators run for and serve in office for the wrong reasons, such as personal aggrandizement and political power.

The purpose of serving in elected office should be to bring forth the optimum public good and to preserve the right and responsibility of individual liberty and personal accountability for all of us.

Doing that will benefit all West Virginians. That rising tide will lift all of our boats.

If legislators rise above partisan politics and adhere to principles of good governance, then regional squabbles also will diminish
and we all will prosper.

Delegate Larry D. Kump

Special Legislative Session Set on WV Redistricting

If you would, please spread the word that the Speaker of the House of Delegates has indicated that the Special Session of the Legislature on Redistricting probably will be convened on Monday, August 1st.

Now the time for all concerned citizens to be intensely involved in communicating to legislators on this issue, inasmuch as it will affect every citizen of West Virginia for the next ten years.

More of this about that is available by using the direct link on the right hand side of this webpage to the "WV State Legislature" webpage. Using that link will give you further information on who is serving on the redistricting committees in the Senate and House, how to contact legislators and discover your current district boundaries, and even a toll-free telephone number.

By the way, when contacting legislators, simply use your own words. A sincere short message is even more effective than copying and resending someone else's message under your name.

Please share this message with others.

Returning & Reporting on Redistricting

The first official meeting of the West Virginia House of Delegates Redistricting Committee yesterday mostly was a proforma and procedural non-event.

House of Delegates Majority Leader and Redistricting Chair Brent Boggs avowed that there still are no official legislative redistricting proposals to discuss, but there was a steady stream of anxious incumbent legislators making their way in and out of the redistricting office in the basement of the State House.

The next meeting of the redistricting committee was not announced yesterday, but most probably will be during the next Interim Legislative Session, Monday through Wednesday, July 11th - July 13th.

The results of these legislative deliberations will affect every West Virginia citizen and every election for the next ten years.

Meanwhile, visit the right hand side of this webpage for a direct link to the official "WV State Legislature" website and the latest official news on redistricting and how to email all the redistricting committee members and all other legislators, a toll-free telephone number, and even how to view your current legislative district and how to find out who are your current West Virginia Delegates and Senators.

Now is the Time

Take a moment to learn more about what's going on with legislative redistricting.

Click on "WV State Legislature" under "Links" on the right side of this webpage to connect directly to the official West Virginia State Legislature Website.

At that site you can click on the "Senate" option near the top of the page and then the "Redistricting" suboption option to learn about the redistricting committee in the Senate.

Under the "House" option near the the top of the page, click on the "Speaker" suboption and then click on "News Releases" on the right side of his photo. Then, under "Select Committee", use the arrow to get his official release, "Speaker Appoints Select Committee". (Not very user friendly, is it?)

You also may use the West Virginia State Legislature website to contact any legislator and to learn more about any legislator and current legislative district. You even can learn who represents you and your current legislative district boundaries.

Now is the time to tell the legislators, especially those on the redistricting committees, how you feel about this process and what should be done.

Please share this message with others.

Delegate Larry D. Kump

P.S.: While you're at it, also check out the animated videos under "Videos" on the right hand side of this web page.